Pipe thermostatic motor.



E. S. HALSEY.

PIPE THERMOSTATIO MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12,1909.

Patented July 28, 1914.

Illlllll IIIIIIIIIH UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD S. -HALSEY, F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HALSEY MANUFAC-TUBING 00., OF WILMINGTON, DEI A WARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE;

PIPE THERMOSTATIC MOTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 12, 1909. Serial No. 507,070.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD S. HALsEY, of Lynn, in the county of Essexand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Pipe Thermostatic Motors, of which the followingis aspecification.

In carrying out my invention I employ a small elongated copper tankabout a foot long shaped to saddle on and be clamped about a hot watercirculating pipe of the system it is intended to regulate; a smallquantity of volatile liquid, boiling at about the temperature it isdesirable to maintai in the heating system, is contained in said tankand from which the confined pressure is led to an adjacent diaphragmupon which it acts, by a small tube. .The diaphragm in turn, throughlevers and connecting chains, operates the temperature dominating valveor damper so as to cut down or otherwise govern the heating effect.

The object of my invention is to supply a simple, cheap eflicientself-contained regulating unit, as an article of manufacture which canbe readily clamped to the circulating pipe of the heating system in afew minutes without the services of a steamfitter or without disturbingthe piping.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate my inventionsimilarletters refer to similar parts throughout the several views inwhich- 4 7 Figures 1 and 3 are respectively a side and a back view ofthe complete device bound in position about a section of circulationpipe. Fig. 4 is a vertical section of same. Fig. 5 is a plan viewlooking down from above. Fig. 6 shows the complete device attached tothe circulating pipe and controlling the drafts of the hot water heater.While Fig. 7 shows the position in which the device should be appliedwhen used with a horizontal circulation pipe. Fig. 2 shows the back sideof the diaphragm chamber detached from the pressure tank showing thearrangement of t e compound lever system and damper operating chainwhich are worked by the movement of said diaphragm. This portion of thedevice is ncarl y identical with the thermostatic motor described by myPatent #916,861 of March 30th 1909.

From this brief description it will be seen that myinvention isconstructed csrutially with the pressure tank T shaped to closely fit acirculation pipe P of the hot ,water system, so that it can be rigidlyclamped snugly outside said pipe by the wire thereby securing arelatively large and intimate contact with the pipe so as to hold nearlya uniform temperature therewith and with the water circulating throughit. The pressure from the boiling of the small quantity of volatileliquid confined within said tank is conducted from it at the extreme topby a small copper tube C to the bottom extremity to the diaphragmchamber D where it exerts its force by dilating the flexible diaphragmwall against the compound lever system which in turn draws on thechainwhich leads to the dampers, giving a travel of about five inches.

The diaphragm or expansion chamber is securely, fixed to the pressuretank througn the medium of three feet provided at the extremities of itsthree-legged cross yoke Y which are screwed to the reinforced triangularshaped metal shield S which is secured to said tank.

The various volatile liquids which I em ploy having different boilingpoints tomeet the requirements of different systems to which they may beattached all have a vapor density considerably greater than that of theconfined air so that in expanding the \volume of air in the pressuretank T is raised up and out by the pressure generated by said vapor tothe expansion chamber D through the small tube C leading said chamber.As the volume of air in said tank is considerably greater than the cubiccapacity of said expansion or diaphragm chamber very little of saidvapor will be led into said chamber by difi'usion with the air andcondensed therein. The small tube CE? is designed to lead from thelowest drainage point of said diaphragm chamber so that-at the slightestrecession any liquid that might accumulate therein will be reconveyed tothe pressure tank.

To make more clear the working parts of the motor, used to illustratethis case, which are minutely described in the patent above referred t9,I here give the details: the expansion chamber is constructed by twolarge, corrugated, dished, flanged, metal, diaphragm disks, the onefitting within and tightup against the other being the thinner PatentedJuly 23, 1914.

laced junction W in the copper jacket from the top of said tank to thebottom of of the two and is the one that is flexed outward whensubjected to internal pressure thus constituting the actuatingdiaphragm. These two disks are hermetically sealed about their peripherby soldering. The rigid cross yoke Y is fixed across the face of thediaphragm; pivoted in this frame is bell crank L having workingengagement with the central stiffening disk 0 of the diaphragm, by meansof a friction wheel pivoted in one extremity of said bell crank, whileits other extremity makes working engageent with the two inner shortarms of the levers H and H by means of a long slide and rock-pin passingthrough it. Since filing the application for the patent above referredto I have devised a means of nearly doubling the maximum travel given tothe operating ligament iK by the cooperation of the two connecting rodsJ and J and the said levers H and H by forming the latter with obtuseangles at their fulcrums or point of pivoting to the frame instead ofbeing straight as formerly. So that now an approximate but imperfectequilateral parallelogram is described by the two said levers andconnecting rods J and J in any of the various relative positions theymay assume within their maximum travel from an acute angle at thejunction of .H and J when the operating ligament is drawn up-to thelimits of travel to that of an obtuse angle at this point and an acuteangle at union df J and J when said ligament is let out to its fullextent.

While my present invention is applicable to any water heating system itis especially designed for tank heaters, for apartment and oflicebuildings where it is important to always have a supply of very hotwater and to guard against scaldin In other words between 140 and 150This is rather difficult especially where the water is heated direct-1ywith steam or with natural gas, but with my device connected direct to abalanced steam or gas valve it is easily accomplished.

. I have found chloroform to be very superior for this purpose, it beingquite easily freed from all foreign liquids, thus securing a uniformboiling point. It is also stable and uninflammable which is ofimportance because of insurance while the boiling point 142 F. is justright giving a regulation close to 150. There is another liquid, siliconchlorid which is uninflammable and has a boiling point of about 140 F.but it is unstable, corrosive and" impractical to handle while its costalone is sulficient to make it absolutely prohibited.

I have discovered that the tendency to buckle and make a popping noisewhen a normally concaved corrugated metal diaphragm like that shown isflexed or reflexed to a lesser degree than that of its normal 'use 5 or6 radial creases equally distributed about the periphery as. shown inFig. 2. The object in correspondingly corrugating the front or convexdisk the same as the concave diaphragm disk of the expansion chamber isto reduce the content of the chamber to practically nothing when thediaphragm is collapsed.

It will be noted that the disks or walls of the thermostatic expansionchambers are not spherically curved as has heretofore been the usualform of such chambers or diaphragms, but that each consists of twodistinct portions, namely a plane circular central portion and a conicalencircling portion. extending from the edges of the center to theperiphery of the chamber, and making a distinct angle with the planecentral portion. The elements of the encircling conical portion aresubstantially straight (disregarding the corrugations which are localirregularities in a general straight radial the edges of such circularportion and the periphery of the chamber. This description applies tothe outer rigid wall of the chamber, and to the inner flexible movablewall when the chamber is collapsed, as shown in Fig. 4, this inner wallbeing made to correspond with and fit closely against. the outer wallwhen collapsed, as already described, The central portion of theflexible wall is rigidly maintained in a flat condition by the centralstiffening disk 0. This improvement is of material importance, since bmaking the outer part of the flexible dis with its radial elementseither straight or concave rather than convex, (considered with respect,to the outer side of the chamber when the same is collapsed) I secure amuch better and more regular and uniform operation of the thermostat. Inchanging from the collapsed to the distended condition the flexiblediaphragm is first flexed near its periphery, because the area and totalpressure acting at this portion are greater than the area of the centralpart and the pressure acting thereon. Therefore the flexible diaphragmbulges from the rigid wall first at theperiphery and then graduallytoward the center, moving the central part 0 evenly, uniformly andregularly.

1. A temperature regulator for heaters, comprising, in combination witha conduit through which the heated fluid to be regu lated flows, a tankmounted on the conduit, shaped to embrace and make contact over anextended area with the same, said tank containing a volatile liquid, theboiling point of which'is near approximately the temperature desired tobe maintained, a motor apparatus consisting of flexible diaphragmsnested one within the other and hermetically sealed together at theirperipheries, mounted on the tank and normally convexedly distorted awaytherefrom, a tube leading from" the tank and opening into the spacebetween the diaphragms, and motion-transmitting mechanism locatedbetween the tank and. motor apparatus arranged to be actuated bymovement of the inner diaphragm of the latter.

2. In a temperature regulator for a water heating system, an elongatedmetal pressure tank having a curved wall to closely fit a circulationpipe of the system, said tank having portions extending around to theopposite side of said pipe and having means for clasping the same tosaid pipe, a flexible operating expansive chamber supported at adistance from said tank, and valve operating mechanism located betweensaid tank and expansive chamber.

3. In a thermostatic motor the following described lever system; totransmit, redirect, and multiply the motion of an actuating diaphragm; adiaphragm; a frame Y fixed to said diaphragm; a bell crank L pivotedinsaid frame; two obtusely angular levers H and H ivoted on said frameone on each side of said bell crank each of said levers having a longouter arm and a short inner arm; one arm of said bell crank engaged withandworked by said diaphragm the other arm of said bell crank engagedwith and working the two short inner arms of said obtuse levers; twoequal connecting links J and J hinged together at a common point K injunction with an operating ligament said connecting rods being of suchlength and sopivoted in eyes in the two outer ends of saidlevers as toform an approximate but imperfect rhombus or equilateral parallelogramdescribed by the levers H and H and the rods J and J whereby a miximumtravel of said operating ligament may be produced.

4. A thermostatic motorhaving an elastic,

normally flexed corrugated metal diaphragm provided with regularlydistributed concentric and substantially radial creases or corrugations,the said diaphragm when not under pressure having its central portion atone side of the plane of its periphery and movable under pressure-towardsaid plane.

5. In a thermostatic motor, an elastic, concave concentricallyvcorrugated metal diaphragm provided with a plurality of radial creasesintersecting the concentric corrugations, the said diaphragm beingformed to present a central portion when not subjected to pressure, atone side of the plane of its marginal portion, the said central portionbeing movable under pressure toward said plane.

6. In a thermostatic motor, an expansion chamber having a fixedcorrugated metal disk and a second disk constituting a thin flexiblemetal diaphragm provided with corrugations, the two disks being in closerelationship with their corrugations matching into each other, thecentral portions of both disks, when not subject to pressure between thetwo disks, being at one side of the plane of the margins of said disks.

7. A thermostatic motor including a rigid Wall and an elastic diaphragmfixed at its periphery, said wall and diaphragm fitting one withinanother when collapsed and constituting an expansion chamber and thediaphragm being adapted to move at its central part toward and from therigid wall, said diaphragm having its central part plane and the radiiof its outer portion substantially straight from the circumference ofthe central part of the outer periphery when in its normal positionnearest to the fixed wall.

8. In a thermostatic motor, a=flexible diaphragm rigidly secured at itsperiphery and having its area greater than the plane area surrounded byits fixed periphery, said diaphragm being movable in response to fluidpressure exerted upon one surface and being so formed and held when inthe low pressure position, that its central portion is in a plane at oneside of and parallel to that defined by its fixed periphery, saidcentral portion being movable toward said plane of the fixed periphery.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

EDWARD S, HAL SEY.

Witnesses A. W. HARRISON,

E. BATCHELDER.

